Subscribe if you want to be notified of new blog posts. You will receive an email confirming your subscription.
EHRs/PHRs
The Third Rail in HITECH Implementation: “Please Don’t Make Us All Speak Latin”
By Vince Kuraitis and Steven Waldren MD, MS. Dr Waldren is Director of the Center for Health Information Technology at the American Academy of Family Practice (AAFP).
Two issues have rightfully surfaced front and center in the public’s understanding of HITECH Act implementation:
” definition of “Meaningful Use” of EHRs, and
” definition of “certification” process for EHRs
…and we applaud the progress of the workgroups and the HIT Policy Committee in addressing these issues constructively.
However…a THIRD issue lurks – “Data harmonization at the […]
What’s a Network Industry? Is Healthcare One?
This post is a foundational overview of characteristics of network industries. Much of the terminology will deserve deeper discussion, but we have to start somewhere.
In his book The Economics of Network Industries, Professor Oz Shy lists four characteristics of network industries.
The main characteristics of these markets which distinguish them from the market for grain, dairy products, apples, and treasury bonds are:
Complementarity, compatibility and standards
Consumption externalities [network effects]
Switching costs and lock-in
Significant economies of scale in production
In this essay, I’ll quote from Dr. Shy in explaining each […]
“Meaningful Use” Criteria as a Unifying Force
by Vince Kuraitis, Steve Adams, and David C. Kibbe MD, MBA
Over the past several years, many diverse initiatives have arisen offering partial solutions to systemic problems in the U.S. health care non-system.Â
We see Meaningful Use Criteria recommended by the HIT Policy Committee as a unifying force for these previously disparate initiatives. These initiatives have included:
Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs)
Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs)/Health Information Exchanges (HIEs)
Payer Disease/Care Management Programs
Personal Health Record Platforms — Google Health, Microsoft HealthVault, Dossia, health banks, more to come
State/Regional […]
Overcoming The Penguin Problem: Setting Expectations for EHR Adoption
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Economists call it “The Penguin Problem” — No one moves unless everyone moves, so no one moves.Â
The role of user expectations is crucial in getting penguins to move off of ice floes and in the successful adoption of new network technologies. I’ll cover two main points in today’s essay:
How “The Penguin Problem” Helps Explain Low EHR (electronic health record) Adoption To-Date
How Recent Federal Actions Are Setting Higher Expectations for EHR Adoption
The Penguin Problem and Low EHR Adoption To-Date
While not the only factor, […]
Privacy Law Showdown? Legal and Policy Analysis.
#2 in a series — Modifications to HIPAA Privacy Laws: Impact on Microsoft HealthVault, Google Health, and other PHRs.Â
by Deven McGraw JD, MPH, Center for Democracy & Technology
Introduction
There has been considerable discussion lately about whether or not the stimulus legislation (ARRA) extends HIPAA coverage to commercial vendors of personal health records (PHRs) any time they contract with entities already covered by HIPAA like hospitals, health plans or physicians groups. (For those of you who don’t know, HIPAA is the Health Insurance Portability and […]
Privacy Law Showdown? Setting the Stage
Today’s post is the first in a series entitled:
Modifications to HIPAA Privacy Laws: Impact on Microsoft HealthVault, Google Health, and other PHRs.Â
We’ll explore how recent changes in privacy provisions of  ARRA/HITECH Federal stimulus legislation affect personal health information (PHI) platform companies (e.g., HealthVault, Google Health, Dossia) and personal health record (PHR) companies.
Health IT expert and journalist Neil Versel described the issue in the April 7 issue of BNET Healthcare:
Although Google and Microsoft have gotten plenty of attention for their Web-based personal health records, both companies have long […]
EHR 2.0: Thinking Outside the Cat Box
One of the potential dangers of limiting $17 B HITECH federal stimulus funds to electronic health records (EHRs) is the risk of locking-in outdated technologies. Let’s consider what this might mean.
If you think of today’s EHR technology as EHR 1.0, what might EHR 2.0 look like? This post presents a number of innovative ways to conceptualize EHR 2.0:
EHR as Platform + Applications
EHR as Clinical Groupware
EHR Integrated with PHR
EHR as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
EHR as a “Publish-Discover” Search Engine
EHR + Disease Management Services = […]
Will HITECH Lead to Innovation? The Continuing Cat/Dog Dialogue
Will the recently passed HITECH legislation — the federal stimulus funding for health IT — encourage innovation? or will it lock in outdated electronic health record (EHR) technology?
It’s a mixed bag — HITECH legislation is both dog-like (innovative) and catlike (protecting incumbents).  I’ll refresh your memory below on more specific definitions of cats and dogs.
Among many other reasons, HITECH is dog-like primarily because it has ended the question of WHETHER the U.S. is really serious about health IT reform. HITECH spells out […]
Leavitt’s Framework Shoehorns the HIPAA Privacy Rule onto Your Personal Health Information
by Vince Kuraitis and David C. Kibbe MD, MBA
Have you ever heard anyone tell a happy story of how easy it is to get a copy of their paper medical records?
Departing Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt is laying the groundwork for this same story to apply to access to YOUR electronic personal health information.
Here’s an overview to what evolved into a long posting:
Analysis: The Leavitt Framework Uses the HIPAA Privacy Rule as a Baseline for Electronic Access to Personal Health Information
Implication:Â Extending […]
Health Wonk Review — The “Just the Facts, Ma’am” Edition
The story you are about to read is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.
This is the city: Los Angeles, California. I work here. I carry a badge blog. My name’s Friday.
Click here (short) or here (long) for Dragnet theme music.
A crime of disorderly conduct has been committed. The U.S. health care system is the prime suspect. My partner Gannon and I will investigate.